Nursing home investigated after patient falls from window

A Buffalo nursing home is being investigated by the Buffalo Police and New York State Department of Health after an 87-year-old patient died while trying to climb out of his third floor window, according to an article on the WGRZ website.

The patient apparently tied clothes and bed sheets together and attempted to climb out of his window at the Emerald South Nursing Home. A staff member found him lying in the parking lot when she was coming into work.

The investigations are focusing on how it's possible that the patient got out of the window. There are security devices bolted onto most of the windows at the facility that should prevent them from being opened more than seven inches.

"That device did not appear to be functioning on this window," said BPD Captain Jeff Rinaldo. "So, we're looking at whether or not the nursing home was aware of that and how that device may have been removed."

In building these facilities, healthcare facility managers and their construction partners must strike a balance of incorporating necessary elements of a medical facility, while maintaining a comfortable, homelike atmosphere